On Thanksgiving Day 1936, fire destroyed a North Jersey landmark - Ben Marden's Riviera in Fort Lee, the popular night club atop the Palisades.
Flames "spread so quickly that Fort Lee's four fire companies, reinforced by two from Englewood Cliffs, could do little" to save the wooden structure, the Associated Press reported.
Ammonia fumes from the refrigerating plant injured Fort Lee volunteer firefighter John Tierney.
The club was open earlier in the day - Nov. 26 - for its annual distribution of 500 Thanksgiving baskets to needy families.
